| An oasis is a vegetation island, located near a natural water source in the middle of a desert. Oasis's can vary significantly depending upon their size and nature, from small ponds, bordered with date palm trees up to entire cities with agricultural activity and industry. The traditional form of economy, combining many different forms of agriculture, is called an oasis economy.
A territory, free from snow and ice, is called an oasis in the Antarctic.
The word "oasis" is associated with boundless sands, mirages, thirst-tormented caravans running towards water springs, surrounded by shaking palm trees.
However, today these pictures are only the results of the imagination, which do not have something in common with reality. Caravans have almost disappeared and Bedouins have replaced their camels with cars. At the same time, achievements of civilizations still cannot change the severe climate.
The Sahara desert spreads across 5000 km from the coasts of the Nile in the West up to the Atlantic coast. Oases are usually found in mountainous regions, where wind and time have formed depressions, the depth of which allows natural water-bearing stratum to reach the earth's surface. In the Western desert, the unique water-bearing layer goes northwards from the Sudan approximately parallel to the Nile, forming an arc of five oases. Prehistoric finds testify that, human beings used this gift of nature since the fifth millennium B.C. During the Pharaohs, four oases - Кharga, Dakhla, Farafra and Ваhariya have formed a line of defense against marauding Lebanese tribes.
The camel is the only animal which is capable of traveling for five days without water and camels were introduced by invading Persians in VI B.C, which caused enormous changes in the development of oases, comparable to the advent of electricity and automobiles in our days. The camel revived the economy of deserts. However, pack animals were not much help to the Persian Emperor Cambyses when he directed his army through Kharga to Siwa in 525 B.C. According to Herodotus, a sand storm buried the entire 5000 strong army.
The Ptolemaic, who controlled the country as a large estate, took to the task of improving agriculture in the desert. Archeological finds show that, tillage during their times had reached apogee, new wells were dug out and complex water distribution systems were made operational using Alexander's engineering techniques, which continue to exist even today. The Roman conquest has led to a decline in all spheres. Internal revolt during the last period of the Roman governance promoted the rise of gangsters and prosecutions compelled Christians to search for shelters in the deserts, with numerous remnants in oases providing evidence.
Present-day inhabitants of oases are Muslims. This religion suiting severe living conditions, facilitated movement of progress along the way in oases. Charisma, nobleness and peace of inhabitants, to a large extent, is connected with Islam. The landscape to which, apparently, God Himself had created, personifying abundance of the deserts in the world.
Kharga Oasis:
The most frequented Oasis in Egypt owing to its proximity to Nile and in addition, the presence of the New Valley administration. It is possible to reach this place from Cairo and Luxor by airplane, but the majority of travelers prefer the land route.
Dakhla Oasis:
This is the largest oasis in Egypt with a population of around 60000. According to the New Valley Project, its area has doubled in the last few years but Dakhla nevertheless did not lose its beauty.
Farafra and Ваhariya:
Farafra - is the remotest oasis from the valley of Nile. In spite of the fact that it occupies little more than 1000 hectares of tillable land it has huge potential to restore the land. The Bahariya Oasis is connected to Cairo with a beautiful highway, moving towards the West aside from the Faiyum desert road behind the Pyramids of Giza.
Faiyum Oasis:
On hot sands, long caravans of camels loaded with goods move slowly in rhythm with the slow breath of the desert. A similar monotonous picture comes along whenever you pass a road from the humid Cairo to the cool Faiyum Oasis.
The Siwa Oasis is the most mysterious and remotest oasis in Egypt and it has been closed for tourists due to disorders on the Libyan border. Presently, it is necessary to obtain permission in Mersa Matruh to visit the Siwa Oasis.
The Siwa Oasis has a sacred history. In one of the visits to Siwa, archeologist Jenny Jobbins studied the first days, take-off and falling of cult oracle Amon in the oasis, lying in the embraces of the great sea of desert just 50 km from Libyan border.
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